Asked if he can change Barron’s habits, Houck replied, “Yeah, that’s my job. If I can’t do that, then they better look for another line coach.”

Houck is considered one of the league’s top offensive line coaches, but he may have met his match when it comes to Barron. After all, Houck has had months to make Barron a better player and has failed so far.

Dallas acquired Barron in a March trade that sent underachieving linebacker Bobby Carpenter, another first-round bust, to St. Louis. When the deal was done, the Cowboys were well aware that Barron was prone to penalties.

Sure, he was injured for part of training camp, but Houck still had plenty of time to work on Barron’s technique.

With that said, it would seem apparent that Barron is a lost cause, which leads to this question: Why did Dallas trade for him in the first place?

Fortunately for the Cowboys, Marc Colombo returned to practice Wednesday and could start in Sunday’s home opener against Chicago, sending Barron back to the sideline.

Barron said Wednesday that his confidence remains high and that he is looking forward to getting a chance to redeem himself.

“That was a bad game,” he said. “And I need to get better. But I’ll be ready if I get another chance like that.”